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she
expected.
    It was not the first time, but she was surprised how strong
Morgan could embrace her with just one of his arms so that she
couldn't move, and with his other hand, he caressed her face so
gently. She was practically stupefied by the almond scent flowing
from the man’s skin. She closed her eyes and gave herself to
whatever came next. The earl pressed his body to hers tightly, but
only as forcefully so as not to give her pain. With his left hand,
he embraced her waist, and ran his right hand over her shoulder
first, then he sank his long fingers into her thick, red curls.
Then he laid his palm on the girl’s nape and pulled her head
towards him, so close, that their lips met. As hard as his arm held
her, his soft lips caressed the girl’s mouth. As always, when the
man kissed her, Amrita felt her heart unbearably overflowing. The
basket fell out of her hand, so nothing inhibited her from
embracing Morgan. The noise of an approaching carriage broke the
magic of the moment.
    “ We haven’t finished yet,” said the earl while releasing her,
and he stepped a few paces away.
    “ You keep repeating this, for too long,” Amrita swept a wavy
curl aside on her forehead. “Don’t you think that if you haven’t
yet managed to finish what you started, you won’t succeed this time
either?”
    “ Humans cannot even imagine that you can be so evil,” Morgan
laughed out loud, which made his features more irresistible. “But
this is what I like about you, you little witch!”
    He waved good-bye and in the next moment, disappeared in the
alley. Amrita bent down for the turned-over basket while shaking
her head. She did not suspect that two corners away, another man
was watching all of her moves from the doorway of an ancient house
covered in ivy.
    It was Michel, who had unexpected things to do on the
following day, so he decided to arrive a day earlier and surprise
Amrita. He saw her heading for the market, he hurried after her,
and he was just about to call out to her to wait for him when earl
d’Angerville stepped forward from one of the alleys. Michel saw
everything: as Amrita and the man had a private talk, then as the
earl embraced and kissed his loved one, who obviously did not mind
it at all. So that is the reason why Amrita rejects everybody! She
is the lover of the earl… As suddenly as Michel’s heart burst into
flames, when he first caught sight of the girl in the main square
of the town, just as fast, it broke into pieces from this sight. He
flopped down on the dirty cobble stone, and while he was watching
the girl’s bickering figure, bitter sobbing shook his hunched-up
body. He never looked for Amrita again.
    Every magical and painful moment of the summer of 1528 rushed
through the doctor’s mind and soul as he caught sight of his former
love fifteen years later in the royal palace. Due to the shock, he
could not even move for a while. It was not enough that he saw the
woman again who smashed his heart to dust once and for all,
moreover, this woman did not age a single day in the past one and a
half decades. However, by the time the doctor regained his
consciousness with great difficulty, he noticed the panic in the
unforgettable emerald eyes.
    Although the past years left marks on Michel, hearing his
unusual name, Amrita recognized him even behind the mature
features.

Chapter 7
    Star of the Valois shines
    Louvre, Paris – 29 April 1543

    The princess diligently sipped the magnificent-flavored rose
nectar, and in the evening of the twenty-first day, she gathered up
all her long time wasted charm and made sure to detain Henri in the
marital bed all night long.
    Amrita’s room was on the other side of the corridor, opposite
to the ducal suite, so through the door’s eyelet, she saw when the
crown prince left in the morning. She waited for a while, then
knocked on the princess’ door.
    The princess, with her back to Amrita, stood in front of the
window and was gazing at the lewdly green castle